Rock crystal snuffbox decorated with a coin bearing the effigy of Charles III of Spain, China, 1798–1900 Decorated with a right-side profile portrait of King Charles III of Spain, wearing Roman armor and an antique-style laurel wreath. The usual circular text on the original coin has been simplified by the Chinese artisan: only the royal numeral “III” remains clearly legible to the right of the profile, with the rest omitted in favor of a smooth field or a refined stylization. On the reverse, the crowned coat of arms of Spain (the castles of Castile and the lions of León), flanked by the two Pillars of Hercules entwined by a scroll. The border imitates the characteristic fluting or corded pattern (the security reeded edge) of real coins. It rests on a small concave base. The neck of the bottle and the blue glass stopper are set in a European silver mount. Height: 5 cm Provenance: Millon-Jutheau Auction, Hôtel Drouot, December 12 and 13, 1985, lot no. 133 (illustrated). Publication: Viviane Jutheau, Guide for Collectors of Chinese Snuffboxes, 1980, p. 111, illustration no. 7. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Spanish 8-real silver coin (minted primarily in Mexico and South America) was the primary international currency used by Western merchants to purchase silk, tea, and porcelain in Canton.